Long Beach City Council candidate Watkins responds to charges

LONG BEACH - Financial hardship caused City Council candidate John Watkins not to contest charges that led to the revocation of his contractor's license in the mid-1990s, he said Wednesday.

He also maintained that he had the proper permits and passed regulatory checks at each step of the disputed job.

"Due to the financial situation this project put me in, I was forced to abandon the project after spending several thousand dollars in legal fees to deal with the (Contractors State License Board), which I could not afford," said Watkins, a retired Long Beach police officer.

Although the License Board initially had sought to require Watkins to pay restitution to his clients if he attempted to reinstate his license, that requirement wasn't ordered by the board, as the Press-Telegram erroneously reported Wednesday.

The License Board rescinded the license of J.R. Construction of Lakewood, operated by Watkins, in 1995 for what the agency determined to be substantially deficient work on a $113,000 remodel of the Rossmoor home of Michael and Diane Comfort.

State records show that Watkins reapplied for a contractor's license in October 1997. A denial letter was sent the following April.

He appealed the decision and was denied once more in July 1999.

Records detailing the applications were in state archives and not immediately available, said License Board spokesman Rick Lopes. Because the paperwork is archived, Lopes said he couldn't be certain about why the applications were denied.

"But, I am confident when I see that although the stipulated settlement does not note anything about restitution of financial injury to the (Comforts), CSLB would not allow a revoked licensee to get their license back if they haven't settled all financial injuries that remained from their previous construction practice," Lopes wrote in an e-mail.

"No repayment of financial injury would be reason enough for the CSLB to deny Mr. Watkins' application for licensure."

Watkins confirmed Wednesday that he had not paid reparations to the Comforts.

"I had no money. I was broke," Watkins explained.

He said he didn't remember the reason his license reinstatement was denied.

Since he lost his license, he said he has worked with several homeowners on their owner-builder projects, renovated homes he bought to resell and supervised crews of local contractors. Such work doesn't require a contractor's license, according to the License Board.

Michael Comfort said he decided not to file a lawsuit to recover damages because legal advisers told him action could cost up to $30,000.

Comfort also feared that if a judgment was awarded, Watkins could declare bankruptcy after making attempts to pay, and then possibly seek reinstatement of his license on the grounds that he tried to fulfill the License Board's command.

"The best option for me, not only financially but to keep John from doing to others what he did to me, was not to sue him," said Comfort.

Watkins has touted his business experience, including the development of a planned community in Idaho, as he has campaigned for the Los Altos-based 4th District City Council seat.

The Idaho development is in Bonner County, near the Canadian border, Watkins said. Work is done as an owner-builder, and the state doesn't license general contractors on private-sector residential projects.

Watkins is running against business marketing consultant Daryl Supernaw and Councilman Patrick O'Donnell, who is running for a third term as a write-in candidate.

Donning and doffing

Also Wednesday, Watkins addressed his participation, along with almost 900 Long Beach police officers, in the "donning and doffing" class action lawsuit settled by the city in December 2010, which the Press-Telegram also reported this week.

The suit was brought by police seeking payment for allegedly unpaid time spent putting on their uniforms and protective gear, waiting in court, attending briefings, attending classrooms and other routine tasks.

Watkins said his participation was based solely on getting on-call pay as a supervising sergeant at the Long Beach Airport where his shifts made him responsible for being available to work from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

"That's an 18-hour span, and we were paid for 10 hours," Watkins said.

Long Beach agreed to pay $300,000 in attorney fees and give 47 vacation hours over four years to the 883 officers in the department.

Watkins retired the month the settlement was reached. Under the deal's terms covering retirees, his portion of the settlement was put into his sick hours bank, an account that can be used for medical expenses post-retirement.